by Elias Andrinopoulos

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“Severe Clear”, the uncompromsing new documentary film from Sirk Producions, had it’s inception in 2004 when a young Marine, newly returned from combat, walked into NYU’s Tisch School of Film one fateful day.

Heavy with a bag of DV tapes under his arm, the young Lieutenant had but one simple goal in mind: He was looking for a film student, someone to condense “all the cool parts” from his raw war footage shot on the battlefield in Iraq.

Flash forward 5 years later, to a superbly crafted by film by Director/ Editor/ Producer Kristian Fraga, “Severe Clear” is an unflinching, brutal portrait of one man’s front-line experience of war.

Accompany First Lieutenant Mike Scotti and his men of the 1st Battalion 4th Marines on the grueling, 300 mile march towards Bagdad, 2003, to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The film takes no sides politically, but be forewarned: much of it’s footage may be too graphic for some viewers. It’s makers pulled no punches at any step of the filmmaking process in bringing Mike’s story to the screen.

“Severe Clear” was most recently honored as the Jury Award Winner at the 2010 Salem Film Fest.

This conversation took place exactly one day following the Oscars…

Elias Andrinopoulos: Hello, Kristian!

Kristian Fraga: Eli!  Hi, how’s it going man?

Eli: Pretty good!

Eli: Draggin’, up until all hours watching the (Oscar) ceremony.

K: (laughs)

Eli: Speaking of awards, Kristian, congratulations on winning the 2010 Salem Film Fest Jury Award!

K: Thank you, that is a huge honor for us, we are really excited about it.

Eli: You’re welcome. Our audience in Salem loved “Severe Clear.”

K: Great.

Eli: Now, it’s been well-documented how you met Scott. I was wondering: What were your first impressions upon viewing the footage that he shot in Iraq?

K: It’s funny, because when I watched the raw footage, the movie that you all saw on the screen essentially just danced through my mind, down to even the music! You know, I was thinking of the score to “Traffic”, written by Cliff Martinez, who, ultimately we got to write the original score for Severe Clear, and, it struck me: If I could figure out how to allow an audience to experience what I’m experiencing right now watching this footage for the first time, we would really have something. And what I saw in that raw footage is not in any way digestable for an audience, but, there were powerful moments that kept popping out, and I thought, man, if I could harness this and put it together as a narrative, that would be something really special.

Eli: One thing that struck me was the gulf between what the media was telling us was happening in the fighting on the march to Bagdad, and the reality that we see in the footage of “Severe Clear”. Was this anything of a shock to you in the editing process?

K: I’ll tell you what, I’m a student of American History, and I was doing a lot of research outside of what was just being showed in the media, so, you know, I was kind of aware of what was going on, but the magnitute of the situation, even just sitting down with Mike and hearing that these guys were in combat from day one, until they took Bagdad, that was not what was being portrayed in the press…and the intensity: of the Marines’ getting killed, and the civilians getting blown up, they were in constant combat, in dangerous situations.

Obviously they (the media) wanted to control what we back in the states were seeing, and you kind of know that’s whats happening, but, when you see it in full color, it’s shocking.

Eli: It’s pretty brutal, and you know, it’s 2010 now, we have some psychological distance from the war -at least, some of us do- and you were watching this material in, what, 2004?

K: Yeah! Yes, absolutely. We probobly could have gotten a theatrical release just by virtue of none of this stuff having been seen before, but that wasn’t interesting to us. My partner, Marc Perez and I, we sat down and said: “You know, it’s gonna take time to make the movie that we really want to make with this material.” We knew the potential with this material, that we can’t worry about just being the first, we just have to be honest and true to the story, and see it through to the end.

Back in 2004 we felt “Wow, people really don’t know about this, and if we do this right, when we open we can give people a window into a world that they did not know was existing at the time.”

Eli: The reactions from veterans seem to be overwhelmingly positive.

K: I’m not going to lie: the good reviews, the Jury Award from Salem Film Fest, is huge, it’s a huge boost to the film. But when you have a veteran of, not just the war in Iraq and Afganistan, but veterans from the first Gulf War, from Vietnam, and even from as far back as Korea, coming up to you after a screening and saying “Hey, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen my story up on the screen.” That’s just..I can’t even tell you what that feels like! Or, a father coming up to us and saying: “Thank you for giving me a glimpse into what my son or daughter went through.” For us, that is the compliment of the highest order.

Eli: Amazing, really great. Well, you’re gearing for a pretty intense promotional campaign; what is the vibe like in your office?

K: We’re all really pumped! We’ve been living with this for 5 years, and from day 1 there was no guarentee with this film. In fact, people were telling us we were committing career suicide, because, supposedly, the subject matter of the Iraq war is box-office poison!

When we were coming back from Salem, which, for the record I will say Salem Film Fest was the perfect way to end our festival run, it really was, Mike (Scotti) and I were talking about it, and the way you guys treated us, the way you treated all the visiting filmmakers, the way you guys presented the movie, across the board, it was just great, it was a really great experience, but, back to the trip home, the NY Times had an article about “The Geen Zone”, Matt Damon’s movie is opening the same day as ours, and in the second paragraph of this feature the studio is panicking, due to the percieved imposibility about selling the war in Iraq! I mean, these guys got Matt Damon starring, and they’re worried? It’s like, how should we feel?! (laughs) But, the response has been great, the groundswell has been picking up, we’ve got Newsweek, Newsday, NBC, Hulu.com, it’s just picking up, and with The Hurt Locker winning so many Academy Awards yesterday, there is possibility, we’re all excited to finally have audiences see it.

Eli: We were excited to have your film. We all love great Cinema here in Salem.

K: Maybe I should make another documentary so you all can invite us back to your party! (laughs) Rome was tremendous, the Rome International Film Festival treated us like rock stars, and you guys were right up there, I kid you not, Rome and Salem! They’re all great, though, I’m not going to disparage anyone, South by Southwest, they’re all very good, but you guys love film and it shows, you really treat filmmakers the right way.

Eli: Thank you Kristian, and to Mike as well. All the best to you guys with “Severe Clear”!

“Severe Clear” Opens in select theatres March 12th, 2010.

With over three dozen documentaries being shown throughout the week, I assumed that the overly excited crowd would have a lot to say…I was right. Most responses came from JUNIOR which screened on Thursday night and proved to be a crowd favorite. The audience was intrigued by the festival and gave us their insight on independent filmmaking and their views on specific films  including Jury award winner SEVERE CLEAR.  Take a look at a short video I made with my interviews with the crowd!

The press and volunteers also had a great time sipping wine and commenting on their favorite highlights of the festival. I got a chance to catch up with them and get a few testimonials. Included are Mik Augustin, who created both the jury prize and the audience award (which will be announced during the Oscar party), Editor-in-chief of ART THROB Dinah Cardin, and the festival’s own Joe Cultrera.

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It is easy to understand why a film like MINE would gain such high resonance. A film depicting the emotional bond between humans and their pets is a genuine  look at the aftermath of tragedy.

The film, which screens at 7:30 tonight, will have the audience examining their relationship with their furry loved ones.

The story will likely lift your heart and make it break all at the same time. New Orleans was flooded with film crews following Hurricane Katrina. But the central focus of this film is Katrina victims trying to reunite with their pets, mainly dogs, who have been adopted by new owners. Where do the new owners find their place among the emotional strains of the pets’ previous owners, who have spent the last several post Katrina years getting back on their feet?

Salem’s Northeast Animal Shelter has done their part to keep these abandoned pets safe after the floodwaters receded. The shelter, located on Highland Ave., has raised funds and has found homes for Katrina pets with many local families.

Representatives from the shelter have commented on both sides of this emotional tug of war, saying that finding homes for these pets is the immediate task at hand regardless of the situation.

In a city with seemingly as many dogs as people, MINE will no doubt win over tonight’s audience with its hopeful and often times, unsettling portrayal of the undying bond with man’s best friend.

There were moments when the entire audience cringed in unison during the Saturday night premiere of SEVERE CLEAR. The movie documents the U.S. military’s 2003 siege of Baghdad strictly using film shot by Marine Corps 1^st Lt. Mike Scotti and some of his fellow Marines on the ground and in the thick of battle. Shots were fired, blood was spilled and reality was on stark display.

“I originally was going to write a book, and was really using the video camera to document things,” Scotti said. “[If] I saw something interesting, I’d turn on the camera.”

Director Kristian Fraga, who Scotti enlisted to help make sense of the footage after he was honorably discharged in 2005, edited the film from Scotti’s perspective at the time of the 30 day attack on the Iraqi capital.

“My goal was to get his experience as close as we could,” Fraga said.

Technology has granted civilians the chance to see what war is like. There were no hand-held camcorders during World War II. Soldiers weren’t able to lug video cameras into Vietnam. But now, as technology surpasses military code, returning soldiers can use mini, hand-held digital devices to give an honest glimpse into their life walking the line between life and death. SEVERE CLEAR seems to be one of the first movies that does this in an honest way while providing a compelling narrative.

Scotti and Fraga cut approximately 60 hours of footage down to 93 minutes which gives a glimpse at the life of a modern Marine on the front lines. The movie is not about politics. Early in the film, Scotti explains the politicians had made their decisions and the Marines were sent out to do their job. The movie was meant to show what happens during a Marine’s 90-hour day at work.

There are scenes of Scotti and his comrades goofing off in camp, violent sandstorms halting an entire convoy and soldiers talking with the locals. Subtitles are not provided in accordance with Fraga’s theme of “you are seeing things as Mike saw them.”

BE WARNED: There are troubling scenes of war in this movie. A nearby couple said afterward the footage was shocking, but did not ruin the experience for them. In fact, in the anonymous duo’s opinion, the brutal honesty was refreshing.

Both Scotti and Fraga were on hand after the screening to answer questions from the audience. There was a feeling of reverence in the room, and the questions revolved more around Scotti’s experiences after coming home, how the film was being received and what the public can do to help veteran’s transitions back into civilian life.

When asked what he hopes people take away from the film, the young military veteran spoke plainly about his intent.

“[I hope]…people who know people get a shared experience and can help bridge a gap, and for people who don’t know [military personnel], I hope they learn what it is to be in a war.”

Les Blank with son Harrod. Photo by Michael Pelosi

The first night of the Salem Film Festival was filled with as much depth as we’ve come to expect. The film buff locals– who bring as much weight as the films themselves, were even more intrigued by legendary documentarian Les Blank’s outstanding double feature.

As the Artist in Residence at SFF 2010, Blank’s two film, THE BLUES ACCORDIN’ TO LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS and GARLIC IS AS GOOD AS TEN MOTHERS,  not only won over the sold out crowd, they also gave us a glimpse of the man behind that cool calm demeanor.

Both were shot over three decades ago, yet still prove just as relevant in 2010. Inspired by Ingmar Bergman, Blank’s film background is made up mostly of films about  the authenticity of American Traditional Music and portraying subjects with a great cultural context .

THE BLUES ACCORDIN’ TO LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS depicts the life of legendary bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins.  The 31-minute film kept the audience engaged with its gentle portrait, rather than the driving narative, more  in-your-face approach of some modern documentary filmmaking.

GARLIC IS AS GOOD AS TEN MOTHERS gave us a genuine look at the garlic phenomenon in a funny yet historical way. The film originally premiered at the Berlin Film Festival to rave reviews and the The Library of Congress praised the film for its “aesthetic significance.”

 Blank recommends that when the film is shown an oven  be provided in the rear of the theater to cook garlic. “There is something significant about watching a film about garlic and then having you smell it,” Blank said.

Les Blank answering audience questions. Photo by Michael Pelosi

After the screening of both films, Blank entered the theater to answer questions from the extrememly satisfied crowd. Most of the questions centered around the making of the films and why he chose these subjects.

With luck and skill on his side, Blank’s films often ”just sort of came together.”

Les Blank’s filmmaking genes were handed over to son Harrod, who has been seen around the festival. His film AUTOMORPHOSIS is screening on Sunday night and is gaining much attention already.

Regardless of your personal view on blues or garlic, it is highly improbable that you’ll leave CinemaSalem unsatisfied after viewing these works of art from a guy who undoubtedly is in a league of his own.

By Tom Dalton
Staff writer

SALEM — The footprint of the Salem Film Fest is expanding.

The third annual festival, which opens today at CinemaSalem, has more documentary films than last year, twice as many volunteers, more business and community supporters, more major sponsors, and a growing number of outside events ranging from a filmmaker breakfast at Caffe Graziani to an after-party at Victoria Station.

All but two of the 34 films have sponsors — businesses or organizations willing to pay $250 to underwrite some of the film’s costs. In one case, two Vietnam veterans from Salem are sponsoring “Severe Clear,” a documentary filmed by a Marine during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

“We’re both enthusiastic about the festival, and that seemed like an appropriate film for us to sponsor,” said Peter Merry, an attorney and former Marine. He shared the cost with local businessman and Army veteran John Neely.

This one film, in a way, tells the story of the festival.

Not only is it an unusual subject — war footage shot by a combat Marine — but the screening has become an event in itself. The serviceman who shot the film, former 1st Lt. Mike Scotti, is coming to Salem tomorrow to speak at a morning forum and also at the screening that night.

The audience for the film is expected to include a number of local veterans. Last weekend, festival volunteers telephoned local veterans’ agents to spread the word.

The festival also has made contact with Operation Troop Support. The Danvers-based group will collect care packages for troops throughout the festival, which runs through Thursday.

As was the case last year, a number of the filmmakers are coming to Salem to speak to audiences before or after their films.

In a new twist, a half-dozen filmmakers will sit down tomorrow morning at the Salem Theatre Company’s new home on Lafayette Street to talk about their craft.

All of this outreach and interaction, one of the founders said, is what gives the festival a heartbeat.

“A good festival is more than going to look at movies and going home,” said Joe Cultrera, a local documentary filmmaker.

The city’s arts community has rallied around the festival. Matt Caruso, one of the forces behind the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival, is sponsoring the film “Rock Prophecies” about legendary rock photographer Robert Knight. He is also bringing a young guitar star, 18-year-old Graham Whitford, from New York City to Salem to perform in a concert before the film tonight and afterward at Victoria Station. Whitford is the son of Brad Whitford, a guitarist for Aerosmith.

The city’s two hotels and several bed-and-breakfasts are providing complimentary rooms for the directors. Several restaurants are offering the filmmakers free meals.

“We have five properties that are hosting filmmakers,” said Rinus Oosthoek, executive director of the Salem Chamber of Commerce. “They see the opportunity to grow this into an event where people will visit and stay overnight for a week.”

“This is the third year we’re doing it,” said Jon Bercume, general manager of Salem Waterfront Hotel & Suites. “It all started with the concept of creating an event that would bring people to Salem when otherwise it would be a slow time.”

For the first time, the Peabody Essex Museum is a major sponsor. Not only is PEM providing financial backing, but it is screening two festival films on Sunday, one on a Japanese musician and another on the residents of a building in Shanghai. Both are free with museum admission.

Festival organizers say they are delighted by the interest the event has generated, the contributions of numerous volunteers and the support it has received from a broad spectrum of the community. As for the festival’s growth, they credit some of that to serendipity.

“We never really started out with a five-year strategic plan,” said Paul Van Ness, the owner of CinemaSalem. “I think we’re willing to be flexible and follow the festival where it wants to go.”

courtesy image from the film RISEUP

The director of the film RISEUP– Luciano Blotta, makes it clear that his film is both an ode to Jamaican music and a tribute to hard working artists. The film will resonate with anyone who can appreciate overcoming obscurity and fighting for what they believe in. The filmmaker, who plans on attending SFF 2010, answered a few questions below:

A: Jamaican music is one of the main vehicles of expression, it is really the voice of the people of the island. Therefore, it is a powerful force that attracts thousands, making it very competitive to succeed in it and be heard. So you can imagine the challenges, the struggles and the journeys these people face when they decide to incur into the turbulent world of Jamaica’s music.

It is in the underground that this talent lies because the mainstream consists of just a handful of names, being this such a small place, but the rest of the talent is totally undiscovered yet these artists have amazing stories to tell. I felt it was important to focus on these unseen people and learn how an artist makes it in music in Jamaica, by experiencing it through the years with them.

A: I think it was a natural flow, it wasn’t an intellectual decision or something I was concerned with. I actually remained respectful and conscious of the universal themes running in the culture and thus left it up to the artists to show that authenticity. I tried not to editorialize, just let them tell the stories they wanted to tell, because they are in it. They are living it so it doesn’t get more authentic than that.

A: It was dangerous because you can venture into places where you may not be welcome, especially with a camera. But I was fortunate to have with me my teammate Carlo Less, a music producer familiar with the scene who helped us navigate this world with caution and respect, it was invaluable and helped us avoid most dangers. However, even with the upmost care, we faced difficult moments where our lives were at stake.

A: I can indeed.  In fact, I related to it so much I decided to tell this tale. Every artist wants to be heard and understood. They want their work to be seen and appreciated. This is the same for every artist working in any medium and filmmakers are no exception. So, I was inspired by these artists’ fight to be recognized, because like them, I also wanted my art to reach the world.

A: I think the universal theme at play in this film is hope. Unlike many documentaries, RISEUP is an upbeat story that resonates with people’s desires to triumph and to make dreams come true. It is really a feel-good movie and I’d be happy to hear that it inspired you in any way, because inspiration is key to make things happen in the world. I’ve been fortunate enough to get such feedback so I am proud and happy to hear that is happening.

A: Film festivals are a great way to get your film recognized and out into the world. This is the first time audiences get to see what you’ve done so it is one of the most exciting and unforgettable experiences you get during the life of your project. It is also where you can collect awards and accolades and it is just a great way to connect with peers in the industry and share your adventures in making the films.

This too is wonderful because you get to realize that you are not alone in this struggle and that pretty much everybody goes through the same things. Last but not least, the festival crowds are usually great and very appreciative.  You get a lot of feedback from them and the Q&A’s are always delightful for everybody involved.
I heard great things about Salem and can only wait to meet the people.

We hope to have a wonderful screening and are thankful to the festival for inviting us as well as to Front Street Coffeehouse who is our direct sponsor for the film. Can’t wait to meet them all and thank them personally!